Does the Retail and Commercial Leases Act cover every commercial lease?

No. Despite its name, it mainly covers retail shop leases. Premises above a set rent level, and most industrial sites, fall outside it. Leases outside the Act rely on their own terms.

Where are lease disputes heard in South Australia?

For a lease under the Act, you can start with mediation through the Small Business Commission SA. If that doesn't resolve it, most claims go to the Magistrates Court. Other lease disputes go to the courts.

Can I sign the lease electronically?

Usually, yes. We send documents for electronic signing. If the lease is being registered, we tell you what the Lands Titles Office needs.

Commercial Lease Lawyers Adelaide

Advice before you commit

Before you sign, we review the lease and send you written advice. We look at the rent and rent reviews, outgoings, make good, the personal guarantee, options and assignment, and suggest the changes to raise with the landlord.

Leases for South Australian landlords

We draft the lease from the agreed deal, with an incentive deed if there is one and a registrable version where needed. For retail shop leases we also prepare the disclosure statement.

Enquire Online

South Australian law and your lease

Which Act applies

South Australia’s Retail and Commercial Leases Act 1995 is named for both kinds of lease, but it mainly regulates retail shop leases. It doesn’t apply to premises where the rent is above a threshold set by regulation, and most industrial leases fall outside it. Whether an office is covered depends on how it is used. Working out whether the Act applies is the first step, because it changes what the landlord must disclose and how disputes are handled.

Retail shop leases

Where the Act applies, the landlord must give the tenant a disclosure statement and a copy of the proposed lease before the lease is entered into. The Act also sets rules on outgoings, rent reviews, assignment and how the lease ends. Some lease terms that would be fine in an office lease are void in a retail shop lease. See retail leases in South Australia for more.

Registration

South Australian land is under the Torrens system in the Real Property Act 1886. Leases are registered at the Lands Titles Office, run by Land Services SA. A registered lease binds a later owner and mortgagee, so longer leases with options are usually registered. We can register the lease for you.

Notices and disputes

Before a landlord can end a lease for most breaches, South Australian property law requires a notice setting out the breach and giving the tenant time to fix it. For a lease under the Act, the Small Business Commission SA offers mediation, and the Magistrates Court hears claims that don’t settle. We advise landlords and tenants in lease disputes.

How it works

Enquire online and attach the lease, or the agreed terms if you are the landlord.
We confirm the fee before we start.
We send our written advice, or the lease documents for you to send on.
Everyone signs electronically.

You don’t need to come in. We act for businesses Australia-wide.

Other lease services

Assignment of lease: transferring a lease on the sale of a business.
Deed of variation: changing an existing lease without starting again.
Breach notices: giving or answering a notice.